Vehicle-brake



(No Model.)

E. CALDWELL.

VEHICLE BRAKE No.`456,795. Patented July 28,v 1891.

Y 'fn/vena?? Mae/@ Wnesses UNITED STATESvv PATENT OFFICE.

HARPER CALDl/VELL, OF PINEVILLE, MISSOURI.

VEHICLE-BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart O f Letters Patent No. 456,795, dated July 28, 1891. Application tiled Febrnary 3,` `1891. Serial No. 380,029. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, HARPER CALDWELL, of Pineville, in the county of McDonald and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vehicle-Brakes; and

`do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use it, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in vehicle-brakes; and it consists in the arrangement and construction of parts, which will be fully described hereinafter, and particularly referred to in the claim.

The object of my invention is to produce a brake for vehicles of all kinds in which the parts are few and simple and notliable to get out of order.

Figure l is a side elevation which embodies my invention. Figs. 2 and 3 are detailviews of the same.

A represents the vehicle-body, to the under side of which are secured the blocks B, which are preferably made of the shape shown, and in which the brake-bar O is supported so as t0 have a'partially-turning movement. The ends of this bar project sui'liciently far beyond opposite edges of the body to allow the brake-levers to be fastened in the slots or openings which are made through them. This bar may be made solid and have suitable slots made through it, or it may be formed of two plates or bars, which are separated a suitable distance by blocks or collars, which are placed between the ends of the bars or plates, as shown. If only a single brake-lever is used, it will preferably be of the form shown in Fig. l; but if two brakelevers are used one will be just long enough to be secured rigidly to one end of the brake-bar and be adapted to be forced against the wheel upon that side. The brake-lever D (shown in Fig. l) extends beyond both edges of the brake-bar, that end which extends toward the operating-lever G being preferably of the shape here shown and provided with a slot through its front end. The brake-bar serves as a fulcru m upon which the brake-lever turns, so that when the front end of the lever is raised its rearend is forced against the wheel, and when the front end is allowed to drop the rear end is moved out of contact Vwith the wheel.

Pivoted at I upon the side of thewagon is the operating-lever G, which has its lower end curved backward and upward and made to pass through or catch in the slot in the front end of the brake-lever, as shown. The shoulders .I upon thelower end ot' this leverGcatch against the lower edges of the brake-leven'l and when the lever G is forced forward at its upper end the rear end of the brake-lever is forced against the peri pheryof the rear wheel. As soon as the operating-lever is moved backward atits upper end the brake-lever has its front end to drop from its own weight, and its rear end is then thrown up out of contact with the wheel, so as to prevent the mud from gathering upon it. A perforated circle L is secured to the body inside of the vertical portion of the operating-handle G, and connected to this portion of the handle or lever G will be an ordinary spring-catch (not shown in the drawings) to engage the perforations in the circle for the purpose of holding the said lever in any desired adjustment, all of 'which will be readily understood and to which I make no claim.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- In a wagon-brake, a brake-lever pivotally connected `between its ends to the wagonbody, having its brake-shoe end extending upward from its pivotal point and its opposite operating end extendingtherefrom a suitable distance and having a longitudinal slot, and an operating-lever having its lower end l'oent laterally below the operating end of the brakelever and provided with a reduced portion which extends into the said slot, the parts combined to operate substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HARPER OALDW'ELIJ.

Witnesses:

G. M. Cook, JOSEPH HENsoN. 

